Gold nanoparticles and nanostructures in optical biosensors

Abstract

Noble metals in their 'nano' dimensions show unique electromagnetic phenomena, localised surface plasmon resonance, in response to optical excitation. This phenomenon was reported long ago by Michael Faraday in 1850, but applications of these towards sensors and biosensors have occurred only after efforts towards functionalising these nanoparticles with receptor molecules have been successful. The use of nanoparticles and structures has been further invigorated with the increasing interest in surface enhanced Raman scattering. To optimally exploit these electromagnetic effects for optical biosensing, various morphologies of gold, namely rods, stars, core shell, have been tried. This short review traces the recent developments in this area, highlighting a small section of significant reports in this vibrant field of research.

Gold Nanomaterials for Imaging-Guided Near-Infrared in vivo Cancer Therapy

“…Gold nanomaterials have been widely investigated as considerable biocompatible platforms for the biological field due to the advantages of simple synthesis, large surface area, adjustable optical property, and multiple surface modification (Conde et al, 2012; Jackman et al, 2017). Over the past decade, numerous fundamental reviews have comprehensively investigated the synthesis, size, optical properties, and modification of gold nanoparticles (Daniel and Astruc, 2004; Jain et al, 2008; Sardar et al, 2009; Sau et al, 2010; Jones et al, 2011; Cao et al, 2014; Chauhan and Mukherji, 2014; Singh et al, 2014; Rai et al, 2016; Amendola et al, 2017; Pareek et al, 2017), so these characteristics will be only briefly mentioned in this mini-review. Herein, the photothermal imaging (PTI), surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), and photoacoustic imaging (PAI) guided in vivo cancer therapy are focused.…”

Computational Study of the Effect of the Size-Dependent Dielectric Functions of Gold Nanomaterials on Optical Properties

“…If a nanomaterial has a low imaginary dielectric function, it indicates that it has a low absorption coefficient. The main advantage of nanomaterials with high imaginary dielectric functions is that they enhance energy conversion; they have a high absorption coefficient; they are highly efficient at converting incident electromagnetic radiation into electricity and heat; and they are applicable to things such as solar cells and photodetectors [32,33,73].…”

A silicon nitride coated LSPR based fiber-optic probe for possible continuous monitoring of sucrose content in fruit juices

“…All these issues are still persisting and need to be addressed for LMR based sensors, while LSPR and SPR based sensors are established in these circumstances. Noble metals like gold, used in LSPR and SPR based sensors are stable, biocompatible and surface functionalization is simple [12].…”